APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONFIGURING/ FEEDING SHEET STOCK MATERIAL FOR A DUNNAGE SYSTEM AND FOR GENERATING UPRIGHT EDGE DUNNAGE STRIPS
Various embodiments for stock material for dunnage systems are provided with multi-directional perforation lines, including laterally and longitudinally extending perforations. The stock material can be configured in fan-fold or rolled form, and can be pre-folded. The perforations can help weaken the configured stock material to conform to holding trays. The holding trays can hold horizontally aligned fan-fold stacks of the stock material. Also, the configured stock material can be fed to a dunnage system have forming members that rotate about a vertical axis to generate cushioning strips with a vertical width greater than a horizontal width. Various methods and systems are also provided for making and using the same.
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to stock material configuration for dunnage systems, and methods for converting stock material into cushioning material and/or void fill material in a dunnage system.
2. Description of Related Art
Dunnage machines, or dunnage systems, are used to produce cushioning material. The dunnage machines typically receive feed from a stock material, such as paper, provided in a paper roll. One such example prior art dunnage system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,501,302 (entitled “Off-set Gears and Methods of Using Off-Set Gears for Producing Cushioning Material”). The paper roll can be mounted on a holder that permits the roll to unwind and dispense paper, or other stock material. Alternatively, the stock material can be provided in fan-fold form (e.g., a fan-fold stack), wherein paper is pulled from a fan-fold stack of the stock material to feed a dunnage machine. Some prior art paper dunnage systems, such as that shown in
Referring to prior art
Currently, the most commonly used paper widths for stock material are about 15 inches wide for void fill dunnage systems and about 30 inches wide for cushioning dunnage systems. A difference between void fill dunnage systems and cushioning dunnage systems is typically that void fill dunnage is often produced to occupy higher volume, with lower overall density, to fill voids. Cushioning dunnage systems can typically provide padding for protection against, for example, dropping damage, whereas void fill dunnage systems can typically provide a void filling material that is used to help prevent shifting of products in containers.
Generally, stock material (e.g., paper) feed source for a dunnage system having a wider, rather than narrower, width is preferred because wider material width provides a higher rate of material feed to the dunnage systems, which in turn, results in higher dunnage output/product rate. However, the wider the stock material, the larger a foot print that is occupied by the dunnage system overall. In packaging facilities, a large foot print is undesirable because, among other things, a large foot print increase dunnage system size and weight, and also, factory space can be at a premium and because users/workers can be more efficient and safer when using more compact and lighter machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,374 discloses the use of fan-folded stock material for a cushioning conversion machine, and further provides that the stock material can comprise laterally extending fold lines about which sections of the stock material have been folded in a longitudinal direction to create the fan-folded stack of material. In additional, laterally inwardly folded longitudinal sections are created before forming the fan-fold stack to decrease the width of the fan-folded stack, while still permitting the stack to be fed to a dunnage machine.
Referring to
In some embodiments, a continuous stock material is provided in a roll or a fan-fold stack configuration for use in feeding a dunnage machine, the stock material having at least one longitudinal perforation line. The longitudinal perforation line can extend continuously throughout an entire length of the continuous stock material in the roll or fan-fold stack. The continuous stock material can also have at least a second longitudinal perforation line and can comprise a plurality of lateral perforation lines. Moreover, the continuous stock material can have at least one laterally centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line, and one longitudinal perforation line disposed parallel to the centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line on each side of the centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line.
In some embodiments, a dunnage system comprises a housing having a feed port and an output port; a forming member contained within the housing; a motor for driving the forming member; and a stock material feed tray having a holding surface with varying slope.
In some embodiments, a dunnage system comprises a housing containing a forming member; a motor for driving the forming member; and a stock material loading tray, the loading tray having a planar holding surface configured to retain multiple stacks of fan folded stock material placed horizontally on the holding surface. Also, the dunnage system can further comprise a first fan-fold stack of stock material and a second fan-fold stack of stock material, with both fan-fold stacks of stock material retained in horizontal orientation on the loading tray and with the first fan-fold stack of stock material attached by a finishing section thereof to a beginning section of the second fan-fold stack of stock material. Also, the housing has an output port disposed on a front portion of the housing, and the loading tray can be disposed below the housing and extend forward from the front portion of the housing by at least 8 inches during operation of the dunnage system. Moreover, the loading tray can comprise an end plate imparted with a lateral angle.
In some embodiments, a dunnage system comprises a housing containing one or more forming members, and a motor connected to the forming members, wherein the housing is resting on a horizontal surface and is oriented to dispense cushioning material in a continuous dunnage strip having a vertical width that is greater than a horizontal width. In some embodiments, the dunnage system the dispensed dunnage strip has a maximum width that is substantially vertically oriented. Also, the forming members can be oriented to rotate about a vertical axis.
In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure. However, upon reviewing this disclosure one skilled in the art will understand that the disclosure may be practiced without many of these details. In other instances, well-known or widely available machine parts, dunnage control systems, or stock materials used in creating cushioning or void fill material have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.
In the present description, inasmuch as the terms “about,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and “consisting essentially of” are used, they mean±20% of the indicated range, value, or structure, unless otherwise indicated. It should be understood that the terms “a” and “an” as used herein refer to “one or more” of the enumerated components. The use of the alternative (e.g., “or”) should be understood to mean either one, both, or any combination thereof of the alternatives. As used herein, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used synonymously, both of which are intended to be construed in a non-limiting sense, as are variants thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described for purposes of illustration, in the context of use with paper-based sheet stock materials for dunnage formation. However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate upon reviewing this disclosure, other materials may also be suitable. Throughout this disclosure, unless otherwise indicated, the term “sheet” can also refer to multi-ply material, with each “sheet” having multiple layers comprising thinner sheets.
In other embodiments, such as shown in
In the embodiments shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the foot print width (“Wb”) approximates the foot print width of fan-fold stack 12b on the non-planar holding surface.
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, additional longitudinally extending perforations lines can be provided on the continuous sheet (or multi-ply sheet) of stock material in the fan-fold stack or roll. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, although up to two longitudinal perforation lines have been described, three, four, five or more longitudinal perforation lines can be provided. Also, various additional tray configurations can be provided that can be utilized with the perforated stock material. For example, although
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the fan-fold stacks 32 can have more than one longitudinal perforation line, such as, for example, as shown in
Referring still to
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
Still referring to
A support member 58 for the housing 54 (e.g., legs, wheel, or other resting platform) can be is affixed or positioned on the housing 54 so that when the housing is set down against a resting surface on the support member 58, the housing is axially off-set from its conventional orientation by 90 degrees. This upright side edge 56′ orientation of the dunnage strip 56, with the maximum width “Wm” being oriented vertically, can provide distinct advantages in packaging. In particular, a user can easily bend the dunnage strip horizontally to wind the dunnage strip to form a cushioning surface that can be disposed in a container for protecting product in the container (See, e.g.,
After reviewing the present disclosure, an individual of ordinary skill in the art will immediately appreciate that some details and features can be added, removed and/or changed without deviating from the spirit of the invention. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “additional embodiment(s)” or “some embodiments,” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment(s) is included in at least one or some embodiment(s), but not necessarily all embodiments, such that the references do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment (s). Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
Claims
1. A continuous stock material provided in a roll or a fan-fold stack configuration for use in feeding a dunnage machine, the stock material having at least one longitudinal perforation line.
2. The continuous stock material of claim 1 wherein the longitudinal perforation line extends continuously throughout an entire length of the continuous stock material in the roll or fan-fold stack.
3. The continuous stock material of claim 1 further at least a second longitudinal perforation line.
4. The continuous stock material of claim 3 further comprising a plurality of lateral perforation lines.
5. The continuous stock material of claim 1 further comprising at least one laterally centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line, and one longitudinal perforation line disposed parallel to the centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line on each side of the centrally disposed longitudinal perforation line.
6. A dunnage system comprising:
- a housing containing a forming member;
- a motor for driving the forming member; and
- a stock material loading tray, the loading tray having a planar holding surface configured to retain multiple stacks of fan folded stock material placed horizontally on the holding surface.
7. The dunnage system of claim 6 further comprising a first fan-fold stack of stock material and a second fan-fold stack of stock material, with both fan-fold stacks of stock material retained in horizontal orientation on the loading tray and with the first fan-fold stack of stock material attached by a finishing section thereof to a beginning section of the second fan-fold stack of stock material.
8. The dunnage system of claim 6 wherein the housing has an output port disposed on a front portion of the housing, and the loading tray is disposed below the housing and extends forward from the front portion of the housing by at least 8 inches during operation of the dunnage system.
9. The dunnage system of claim 8 wherein the loading tray comprises an end plate imparted with a lateral angle.
10. The dunnage system of claim 9 wherein stock material is fed from the holding tray upward to the inlet port.
11. The dunnage system of claim 10 further comprising a work surface positioned above the loading tray.
12. A dunnage system comprising:
- a housing having a feed port and an output port;
- a forming member contained within the housing;
- a motor for driving the forming member; and
- a stock material feed tray having a holding surface with varying slope.
13. The dunnage system of claim 12 wherein the holding surface is curved.
14. The dunnage system of claim 12 wherein at least a portion of the holding surface slopes laterally inwardly upward, from opposing lateral sides of the holding surface.
15. The dunnage system of claim 12 wherein at least a portion of the holding surface slopes laterally inwardly downward from opposing lateral sides of the holding surface.
16. The dunnage system of claim 12 wherein at least a first portion of the holding surface is planar and has a first linear slope.
17. The dunnage system of claim 16 wherein at least a second portion of the holding surface is planar and has a second linear slope that is different from the first linear slope.
18. The dunnage system of claim 17 wherein the first portion of the holding surface and the second portion of the holding surface intersect such that a cross sectional contour of the holding surface approximates the shape of a “V.”
19. The dunnage system of claim 17 wherein the first portion of the holding surface the second portion of the holding surface intersect such that a cross sectional contour of the holding surface approximates a shape of an inverted “V.”
20. The dunnage system of claim 17 wherein at least a third portion of the holding surface is planar and has a third linear slope that is different from at least the first linear slope or the second linear slope.
21. The dunnage system of claim 20 wherein at least a fourth portion of the holding surface is planar and has a fourth linear slope.
22. The dunnage system of claim 17 wherein an angle between a paper holding surface of the first portion of the holding surface, and a paper holding portion of the second portion of the holding surface is less than or equal to 120 degrees.
23. The dunnage system of claim 17 wherein an angle between a paper holding surface of the first portion of the holding surface, and a paper holding portion of the second portion of the holding surface is less than or equal to 105 degrees.
24. The dunnage system of claim 9 wherein an angle between a paper holding surface of the first portion of the holding surface, and a paper holding portion of the second portion of the holding surface is less than or equal to 90 degrees.
25. A continuous pre-configured stock material configured in rolled or fan-fold form for use in feeding a dunnage machine, the pre-configured stock material comprising:
- a longitudinal perforation line extending a full longitudinal length of the continuous pre-configured stock material; and
- a laterally inwardly folded longitudinally extending section extending a full longitudinal length of the continuous pre-configured stock material.
26. The pre-configured stock material of claim 25 further comprising at least a second longitudinal perforation line.
27. The pre-configured stock material of claim 25 further comprising at least one laterally extending perforation line.
28. The pre-configured stock material of claim 27 further comprising at least a second laterally extending perforation line.
29. The pre-configured stock material of claim 25 further comprising a second laterally inwardly folded longitudinally extending section extending a full longitudinal length of the continuous pre-configured stock material.
30. The pre-configured stock material of claim 29 further comprising at least one laterally extending perforation line.
31. A method of generating a pre-configured stock material comprising:
- imparting a longitudinal perforation line extending a full length of a continuous stock material;
- folding a longitudinally extending section of the stock material laterally across at least a portion of the width of the stock material; and
- winding the stock material in a roll or fan-folding the stock material.
32. The method of claim 31 further comprising imparting at least a second longitudinal perforation line in the stock material, wherein the second longitudinal perforation line is laterally centrally disposed.
33. The method of claim 32 further comprising imparting a lateral perforation line extending a full width of the stock material.
34. The method of claim 33 further comprising imparting at least four longitudinal perforation lines.
35. A method of loading a dunnage machine comprising:
- feeding a first fan-fold stack of stock material to a dunnage machine, the fan-fold stack being retained in horizontal orientation during feeding to the dunnage machine; and
- attaching a section of a second fan-fold stack of stock material to a section of the first fan-fold stack and retaining the second fan-fold stack in a horizontal orientation during feeding to the dunnage machine.
36. The method of claim 35 wherein attaching a section of the second fan-fold stack to a section of the first fan-fold stack comprises using an adhesive to bind the sections together.
37. The method of claim 35 further comprising imparting a lateral bend to the first or second fan-fold stacks while retaining the first or second fan-fold stacks in a horizontal orientation.
38. The method of claim 37 wherein the lateral bend is imparted, in part, by pressing the first or second fan-fold stack against one or more end plates having a non-linear cumulative contour.
39. A dunnage system comprising:
- a housing;
- a forming member within the housing, the housing having a stock material input side and a dunnage output side; and
- a feed source of stock material with at least a portion of the feed source retained proximate the dunnage output side and extending horizontally forward therefrom in an opposite direction from the stock material input side, wherein the feed source is a fan-fold stack of stock material and wherein the fan-fold stack is retained in a horizontal orientation.
40. The dunnage system of claim 39 wherein a second fan-fold stack of stock material is connected to the fan-fold stack of stock material, with at least a portion of the second fan-fold stack being positioned proximate the dunnage output side, opposite the stock material input side.
41. The dunnage system of claim 40 wherein the second fan-fold stack of stock material is retained in a horizontal orientation.
42. The dunnage system of claim 41 wherein a work surface is disposed above at least a portion of the fan-fold stack.
43. The dunnage system of claim 42 wherein the work surface is a table top.
44. A dunnage system comprising:
- a housing containing one or more forming members;
- a motor connected to the forming members; and
- wherein the housing is resting on a horizontal surface and is oriented to dispense cushioning material in a continuous dunnage strip having a vertical width that is greater than a horizontal width.
45. The dunnage system of claim 44 wherein the dunnage strip has a maximum width that is substantially vertically oriented.
45. The dunnage system of claim 44 wherein the forming members are oriented to rotate about a vertical axis.
46. A method of protecting a work piece using cushioning material comprising:
- disposing a housing of a dunnage machine containing a plurality of forming members in a resting position wherein the forming members rotate about a vertical axis; and
- operating a motor of the dunnage machine to compress stock material between the forming members to dispense a continuous strip of cushioning material.
47. The method of claim 46 wherein the continuous strip is dispensed from the housing in an orientation wherein a maximum lateral width of the continuous strip is substantially vertically disposed.
48. The method of claim 46 further comprising bending the dispensed continuous strip horizontally to wind the continuous strip, before cutting a dispensed section of the continuous strip near an outlet port of the housing to release it from the dunnage machine.
49. The method of claim 48 further comprising disposing the wound dispensed section about a product to be packaged.
50. The method of claim 48 further comprising disposing the wound dispensed section within a container below a product to be packaged.
51. The method of claim 48 further comprising disposing the wound dispensed section within a container above a product to be packaged.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 18, 2015
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2016
Inventor: Simon CS Chan (Seattle, WA)
Application Number: 14/859,250